Goombay Is Back This Week, but Its Funding Problem Isn't Solved
Coconut Grove's Bahamian festival is back this week, but organizers say sponsorship gaps still threaten its future.
Goombay Is Back This Week, but Its Funding Problem Isn't Solved
Growing attendance hasn't closed the sponsorship gap for the Grove's signature Bahamian festival.
Coconut Grove's Goombay festival, the neighborhood's annual celebration of Bahamian culture and heritage, returns this week. Attendance has grown in recent years, but organizers say that rising turnout has not translated into the private sponsor support the event needs to stand on its own. The festival still relies heavily on city funding, and finding backers willing to commit remains a lingering challenge. Goombay traces its roots to the Grove's historic Bahamian community — the families who helped build the neighborhood — and has become one of its defining cultural traditions. Whether this year's edition can attract the sponsorship needed to reduce that public subsidy will shape the event's long-term outlook.
Greenway Zoning Bonus Comes Back Bigger
A proposal to allow taller buildings near bike trails returns to city planners with a wider scope.
Miami officials are bringing back a proposal that would grant height and density bonuses to developers who build near bike trails and pedestrian corridors. The measure returns with a significantly larger footprint than the version originally scheduled for an April hearing at the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, which was canceled for lack of a quorum. The expanded proposal has drawn concern from Grove residents who worry it could reshape low-rise streets near neighborhood greenways.
BANH Opens at Books & Books
Vietnamese street food lands in the Grove's landmark bookstore.
BANH, a Vietnamese street-food concept from Chef Phuoc Vo and recent University of Miami graduate Aidan Friedson, has opened inside Books & Books in Coconut Grove. The menu draws on Vietnamese flavors adapted for a casual counter-service format inside the bookstore's courtyard space.
Bayskate Rolls Into Regatta Harbour June 21
A six-week roller skating residency comes to The Hangar.
Bayskate Miami returns to Coconut Grove with a six-week roller skating residency at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour starting June 21. Sessions feature DJ-led skating, Miami bass music, food and waterfront drinks.